Sony NEX-7 review

Does Sony's new CSC hit the NEX level?

Sony Alpha NEX-7
Sony's flagship mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses promises professional quality in a compact form

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Our results from the labs data have been compared against the Panasonic Lumix GH2, Olympus E-P3 and Nikon V1, all top of the range compact system cameras from their respective manufacturers.

The results show that all four cameras produce good results, but the Sony NEX-7's raw (after conversion to TIFF) results for both noise and dynamic range show that it's a cut above the competition.

Resolution

As part of our image quality testing for the Sony NEX-7, we've shot our resolution chart with the Sony 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens mounted.

If you view our crops of the resolution chart's central section at 100% (or Actual Pixels) you will see that, for example, at ISO 200 the Sony NEX-7 is capable of resolving up to around 26 (line widths per picture height x100) in its highest quality JPEG files.

For a full explanation of what our resolution charts mean, and how to read them please click here to read the full article.

Examining images of the chart taken at each sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 100

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 100

JPEG image resolution

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 100

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 100

ISO 100, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 200

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 200

ISO 200, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 400

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 400

ISO 400, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 800

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 800

ISO 800, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 1600

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 1600

ISO 1600, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 3200

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 3200

ISO 3200, score: 24 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 6400

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 6400

ISO 6400, score: 22 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 12800

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 12800

ISO 12800, score: 20 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 16000

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 16000

ISO 16000, score: 20 (see full image)

Raw image resolution

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 100

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 100

ISO 100, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 200

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 200

ISO 200, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 400

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 400

ISO 400, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 800

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 800

ISO 800, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 1600

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 1600

ISO 1600, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 3200

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 3200

ISO 3200, score: 24 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 6400

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 6400

ISO 6400, score: 24 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 12800

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 12800

ISO 12800, score: 22 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 16000

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 16000

ISO 16000, score: 20 (see full image)